Odyssey Battery Warning!

[Hltoppr]

Hola gents....

About a year ago I bit the bullet and purchased an Odyssey battery for my 1150GS.

Last week I found that some little fingers (read...my daughter) had turned on my GPS and let the battery run down.

So, I tried to recharge the Odyssey and no go...wouldn't go about 6V or so, and I did some reading.

Apparently if an Odyssey battery is discharged below 10V or so will destroy the plates, or whatever Odyssey uses...and kill the battery, which also voids the warranty....

So...moral of this story...don't let your Odyssey run down due to an electrical load.

Now, to add insult to injury, the only battery to fit my bike available in Flagstaff was another Odyssey...so another $160 spent to learn the lesson.

-H-

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Hola gents....

About a year ago I bit the bullet and purchased an Odyssey battery for my 1150GS.

Last week I found that some little fingers (read...my daughter) had turned on my GPS and let the battery run down.

So, I tried to recharge the Odyssey and no go...wouldn't go about 6V or so, and I did some reading.

Apparently if an Odyssey battery is discharged below 10V or so will destroy the plates, or whatever Odyssey uses...and kill the battery, which also voids the warranty....

So...moral of this story...don't let your Odyssey run down due to an electrical load.

Now, to add insult to injury, the only battery to fit my bike available in Flagstaff was another Odyssey...so another $160 spent to learn the lesson.

-H-

Great info at a good time...I was just about to hit the send button for one for my BMW. Thank you for posting this info.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Interesting. I've had an Odyssey in my trackday car for years, and it got regularly taken below 10V, and always charged. I think I had it for 5 years. Eventually I replaced it because it wouldn't *hold* a charge, but it always took a charge and would start the car, but if left for a week or more it would be flat. This was a PC680 being used to start a 2.0L engine.

That battery still sits on a shelf... though I don't know why.

I'm having a trouble with my WR250F going through Yuasa AGM batteries way too fast. I'm on my 4th battery in 3 years, I've had to buy 2 this year. I wish I could get an Odyssey that fit.

 

[jrose609]

Interesting. I've had an Odyssey in my trackday car for years, and it got regularly taken below 10V, and always charged. I think I had it for 5 years. Eventually I replaced it because it wouldn't *hold* a charge, but it always took a charge and would start the car, but if left for a week or more it would be flat. This was a PC680 being used to start a 2.0L engine.

That battery still sits on a shelf... though I don't know why.

I'm having a trouble with my WR250F going through Yuasa AGM batteries way too fast. I'm on my 4th battery in 3 years, I've had to buy 2 this year. I wish I could get an Odyssey that fit.

My wr250 does the same thing. If you figure it out let me know.

 

[vhram]

Unfortunately I had the same thing happen on my goldwing. Gets expensive.

 

[HarryT]

Maybe you just got a bad Odyssey battery. My KLR650 has been cranking on the same PC545 for nine years. Sometimes the bike sits for months between rides and I've never had to charge the battery or jump start the KLR.
You should be able to get a PC680 for around $115.

 

[Michael Slade]

I have two dead Oddysey batteries on the shelf in my garage. Both victims of the low-voltage death grip. :Wow1:

 

[Martyn]

Might I suggest a low voltage disconnect.

 

[Mlachica]

FWIW, with AGM type batteries, maybe other types as well, a good rule of thumb is to not let them drain below 50% state of charge. Draining batteries below 50% will shorten its lifespan as well as make it difficult to hold a charge. The owner's manual will typically have a chart of what the voltages are at 25, 50, 75 & 100% SOC. 50% is typically around 12.20v and 100% is around 12.80v. I made a label with this information and stuck it to my batteries.

 

[hoser]

So, I tried to recharge the Odyssey and no go...wouldn't go about 6V or so, and I did some reading.

Apparently if an Odyssey battery is discharged below 10V or so will destroy the plates, or whatever Odyssey uses...and kill the battery, which also voids the warranty....

I was told some chargers are not able to detect and charge batteries if they are way under voltage (discharged). The fix is to jump the dead battery with a known charged battery till the voltage was closer to 12V, then throw it back on the charger. Didn't work for me but maybe it'll work for you!

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Yes, that's correct. I still keep an old-school fully manual battery charger around to kick-start dead batteries. If the voltage is too low, modern electronic battery chargers will assume they are not connected to a battery.

Interestingly, for my old PC680 that wouldn't hold a charge, Odyssey technical support told me to charge it and then drain it below 10V several times to try and bring it back to life. I did that, and the battery still sorta kinda works, which is why I kept it. But I replaced it so I didn't have to worry anymore.

Another interesting point... when I bought the new PC680, I got a PC625 for my Seadoo, and a PC2150 for my truck at the same time. Well, the PC2150 was actually defective and wouldn't take a charge or start the truck. While I was sorting that out with them (which they handled well), I was jump starting the truck from the PC625. A PC 625 was able to jump start a 4.6L V8 on top of weak PC2150. I jumped it up to 10 times between recharges and the PC625 never even got drained much. I was amazed.

This led me to my plan on using the PC2150 as my main battery, and installing a small PC680 somewhere as an emergency start battery. Avoid all the dual battery hassles, and just have a small backup battery that charges when the truck is running, with a jumper cable for starting if needed.

My wr250 does the same thing. If you figure it out let me know.

The bike shop told me I have to get a Battery Tender. Only way. I'll give it a shot.

 

[hoser]

I have been using this BatteryMinder on my PC925 in my NSX for several years and seems to work well enough.